Dark Plot
by Angel of Death CSV
Summary: Leftenant Joel Davidson struggles to conquer the planet Lightside for Prince Victor Steiner Davion under the command of General Allen Hunter


            **Prologue**

General Allen Hunter walked his Clan-built _Thor_ off the dropship ramp and was greeted by the sight of his whole battalion in formation ready to move out.  They were currently on a mission to seize the whole planet of Lightside from Steiner's hold and secure it for Prince Victor Ian Steiner-Davion.  They had been at war with Archon Katherine's forces for 3 years now, and were closing in fast.  Allen's primary orders were to destroy the local militia as well as any other local garrison force and to capture and secure the garrison base and capital city.

            It was an easy mission. The militia consisted of a whole company of battlemechs and the garrison was only a battalion. He was striking in force with his entire regiment. Having split his forces and diverted each battalion to separate LZs he would be able to take the planet faster.  His battalion had landed 5 klicks out from the main garrison base where they would strike and eliminate the 27th Lyran Regulars.  His other 2 battalions would strike at the militia and the capital city.

            It was a calculated risk to throw a battalion against another when he had the forces to put up 3 to 1 odds, but Allen knew his men and his mechs, and they could handle the job.  Like Leftenant-General Archer Christifori, whom he was presently taking orders from directly, his force had started as a militia of warriors who trained twice a week.  Now they were a regular unit. General Christifori's 1st Thorin Regiment, nicknamed Archer's Avengers, were now elites who had first started taking planets in Lyran space 2 years ago.  Now they had taken a planet only 2 jumps from Tharkad and were securing the surrounding area and their holdings.

            All together, the 1st Thorin Regiment had taken 5 planets and held 3 of them, leaving small forces on the other 2 to fight guerrilla campaigns and pin down entire Lyran Regiments on those worlds.  Allen's unit had taken only 1 planet after securing his home planet but had linked up with General Christifori, and they were now at a combined strength of 5 regiments between them.

Chapter 1 

As Allen lead his force toward the enemy's base, he looked out his cockpit and watched the mechs of his command.  His _Thor_ was not the biggest by far, massing only 70 tons, but being clan-built, it was certainly one of the more advanced mechs. It was only passed by the more modern clan-built _Cauldron-Born, _which was piloted by Colonel Derek Horseman, commander of 3rd battalion.

His _Thor_ was not anywhere near the biggest mech in his own Command Lance.  That title was claimed by Sergeant Al Duvico's 100-ton _Thunderhawk_ assault mech.  Allen's third Lancemate was Sergeant Jason Drake, whose 90-ton _Sunder_ boasted the second highest tonnage in the lance.  Allen's fourth Lancemate was Corporal Harvey Jenkins, who piloted a 65-ton _Cestus_.  

He was pulled out or his thoughts as they neared the enemy base and the first reports came in from the front line of contact.  It took only 30 seconds for Allen to find his first victim and engage, cutting loose at the 45 ton _Hatchetman_ with his ER PPC and 10 caliber LBX autocannon.  The medium mech was showered with submunitions as the ER PPC added its man-made lightning to the round.  The _Hatchetman_ was damaged but not out, jumping toward Allen and raising its hatchet arm preparing to bring it down on the _Thor_.

Allen saw the move and triggered his own Jump Jets, rising into the air on plumes of superheated plasma and jumping back and away from the threat while firing his 15 pack of long-range missiles at the _Hatchetman_, which rocked under the impacts, but again held its balance.  That ended when an ER PPC blast from Allen's _Thor's_ right arm struck down, like a lightning bolt of the ancient Greek god Zeus, blasting through the remaining armor on the 45 ton mech and incinerating its gyro, leaving the mech with no means of standing up.

Chapter 2 

Allen moved on to the next fight and engaged a slightly more intimidating enemy, a _Banshee_.  The enemy mech opened up with a pair of PPCs one of which missed high by one meter, and the other digging into his _Thor's_ left torso.  Allen returned the favor with his own ER PPC and added a little something extra, sending a full 2 rounds from his LB-10X Autocannon drilling into the assault class enemy.  Just as his enemy let loose its own Autocannon, Allen lit off his Jump Jets, avoiding the blast and soaring over his opponent.  While in the air, he let go of a swarm of LRMs to savage his enemy even more.  He fired another 3 bursts of autocannon and a single ER PPC shot as the enemy mech was spinning to bring Allen into view.  Allen took a side step, avoiding to two PPC blasts he knew were coming, and vanquished this foe with and Alpha strike which punched through and struck at the _Banshee's_ fusion reactor.  The assault mech exploded in a big red ball of fire, leaving only a char mark on the ground where it had been.

When Allen looked up from his fight, he saw that the battle was going well for his battalion.  They had lost only 6 mechs up until now, and the enemy force was down nearly 2 full companies.  Allen then spotted Jenkins's _Cestus_ deadlocked with an enemy _Devastator_ and Jenkins was taking the worst of the brawl, being out-tonned by 35 tons.  Allen decided to lend a hand and just as he pull the trigger on his ER PPC, the _Devastator_ unleashed an alpha strike on the _Cestus_, the two PPCs and two Gauss Rifles nearly destroying it.  Allen struck with his ER PPC and autocannon, but the bulky assault mech shrugged it off and continued after Jenkins, delivering the killing blow with a shot from his paired Gauss Rifles.

"JENKINS!" Allen yelled, outraged.  Charging his mech up to 80 KPH, he ran it full throttle at the _Devastator_, stopping only after he had thrust the barrel of his autocannon into the gut of the assault mech as a punch, sending his big opponent sprawling onto the gravel.  He then took a step back and drew his targeting reticle down over the enemy mech's cockpit.  Taking careful aim, he nudged the trigger of his ER PPC and cooked his enemy in his cockpit.

Almost as if that were the sign, the battle around him stopped.  All the enemies had been destroyed.  There were 7 casualties.  _Seven too many._  Allen thought.  The battle was over and there were things to do.  One of the worst jobs he had to do, if not the worst, was to write the letters to the families of the deceased.  He would do it; he was just hoping they would be the last on this planet.  He had a strange feeling they would not be.

Chapter 3 

Leftenant Joel Davidson walked his _Awesome_ into the mechbay with his lance following him in formation after the quick takeover of the local militia and the planet's capital city.  His was the third lance of first company of second battalion which had been assigned the job of destroying the militia.  They had succeeded without the loss of any lives and the capital was now in their hands.  As he brought his mech into its slot along the side of the bay, he began shut down procedures and removed his neurohelmet.  As he climbed down the ladder to the ground he met with his lancemates, Frank, Derek, and Stephanie, who were waiting for him.

He congratulated them on a job well done and asked each of them for a damage report to their mechs. From that he would be able to estimate the cost of the repairs, and would be able to deliver a full report to his company commander, Major Joshua Johnson.

His own _Awesome_ had taken only minimal damage, nothing more than a few blackened spots on his armor.  The rest of his lance appeared to be in a similar condition.  He ordered his lance to get some well-deserved rest.  He was planning on getting some shuteye of his own after a long day.

Chapter 4 

Joel was in his office the next day when he received a report that there were 6 dropships inbound carrying likely a full regiment in an attack to retake the planet, and that his battalion was likely the first target.  His lance as well as the rest of the battalion was being ordered to ready up.  The enemy had entered system via a pirate point and would be arriving in merely a few hours.  He had ordered his lance to report to the briefing room where he would brief them on the situation.

When the briefing was over they headed toward the mechbay and readied their mechs.  Joel led his lance out in formation with the rest of the battalion and once they had cleared the doors the battalion split out into the three companies.  His lance had been assigned to the right flank. They had received a message that the dropships had landed 3 klicks out and were currently en route to that location.  They got a report from the scout lance that a battalion was unloading from the dropships, but they did not know where the other two battalions were.

They soon found out when they were ambushed by two full battalions.  His lance was separated from the rest of the company and was being forced to fend for themselves.  At the moment, they were fending for themselves against a full company of enemies.

He felt a wave of darkness wash over him as he fought unconsciousness after unleashing 3 PPC bursts to destroy an enemy mech and send his heat soaring into the red zone.  The only thing keeping him alive was the cooling vest he was wearing which kept his body temperature near enough to normal.

They had managed to destroy two of the enemies and bring their numbers down to ten, but it was still ten on four, not very good odds.  They had found a cluster of hills in which they had set up a relatively decent stronghold and were holding out against the enemies well enough.

That all changed when Joel heard a scream and then a dead line.  He did not bother to call back because he knew that Frank and his _Salamander _were dead.  It was only then that they realize they had been flanked by two of the enemies.  Joel took a quick shot at the larger of the two, a 55-ton _Bushwacker_, then proceeded to fall back behind the hill.  Their cage was reduced in size yet again as the enemy force moved to reinforce the area they had just taken.

Chapter 5 

With the temporary respite they had earned, he called for a quick report from his two remaining lancemates.  Derek's _Hatchetman _was still in good shape as was Stephanie's _Raven_.  That _Raven_ was likely the only reason they were alive right now.  With its advanced electronics package, she had been able to alert them of pending danger early, and its ECM had put his lance under an effective cloak from the enemy radar as well as reducing the effectiveness of the enemy's targeting systems.

Joel had devised a plan that would likely stun the enemy long enough for him to get his lance out of there and regroup with the rest of the company.  They would knock out the enemy's commanding officer, who just happened to be in a 100 ton _Pillager_, no simple feat, but it was their only choice.  In the enemy's confusion, they would be able to escape.

Joel spoke into his neurohelmet to Derek, "Hey Derek, you think you can take out that _Pillager_ over there?  Steph and I with cover for you."

"No problem sir, just keep the other bugs off me," was the response.

"You got it, here that Steph, lets make them pay!"

Joel and Stephanie popped up over the hill at the same time and unleashed a full compliment of ten short-range missiles between the two of them at the enemy line.  They followed that up with whatever other weapons they had.  For Joel, it was his PPCs, and for Stephanie, it was her lasers.  They stood their ground against the return barrage from the enemy force.

With the distraction they had provided, Derek took to the air on plumes of superheated plasma, and at the apex of his jump, he unleashed a full burst of laser fire on the upper torso of the _Pillager_.  Then, using the momentum of his fall combined with the strength of his mech's myomer muscles, he brought his mech's hand held hatchet down directly over the damaged area of the torso.  The massive weapon dug straight through everything in its way all the way down to the assault mech's gyroscope, knocking the mech onto its back.

With the enemy mech down for good with a wrecked gyro, Derek was lucky enough to be able to yank his hatchet out of the twisted and broken metal and jump back behind the hill.  He sustained only minor damage because the other mechs had been busy with Joel and Stephanie until they saw their commander fall.  The remnants of Joel's lance withdrew in good order, and the enemy failed to pursue.  They were able to link up with the rest of their company.  It was then that they found out their company was the only one to pull any survivors out of that battle.  Down to a mere nine mechs, the second battalion was in ruins.  From what they heard, they had managed to damage the enemy force, but not stop them.  Joel could tell that the battle for this planet would not be the milk run that the invasion was.  Before this was over he had no doubt there would be more casualties than he cared to think about.

Chapter 6 

Joel's lance had now received a replacement for the loss of Frank in battle.  His name was George Kline.  He piloted a _Thug_.  They were a company at a two-lance strength.  The Command lance of the company was now at five mechs and their company was being used to reinforce 1st Battalion, which was now at full strength plus two mechs after their losses in the primary battle for possession of the planet.  3rd Battalion was being called in from their distant location at the HPG station to aid in the fight against the invaders.

From what they were able to see, 2nd Battalion had managed to destroy what looked like two companies before being wiped off the face of the planet, leaving the enemy with slightly stronger numbers.  Moral was low seeing all the missing mechs and pilots, but they had to keep fighting.  This planet was vital.  With a planet only one jump from Tharkad under their control, Katherine would be feeling her fate closing in on her fast.  They would hold this planet no matter the cost.

Yet again they were being sent into combat, only five days after their initial battle, which left their battalion destroyed.  Joel wasn't sure if his lance would be able to face the enemy again so soon, but they would have to.  They rushed into the mechbay together and scaled their mechs quickly.  They fell in formation with the rest of their company, which had been put in formation directly behind General Allen's Command Company.  Joel felt the footfalls of his 80-ton _Awesome_ under him and thought how nice it was to have his companion all fixed up.  He had won many a battle in this mech.

Still he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding toward the coming battle.  He didn't know what it was, but he felt that something was terribly wrong.  Their plan was solid, so he didn't know what could go wrong.  1st Battalion would engage the enemy while 3rd Battalion's dropship would land behind the enemy force's line and hit them from the rear.  While Joel and his lance brought their mechs to an even pace with the other forces around them, Joel couldn't help noticing the grace and skill with which Allen piloted his _Thor_.  A true veteran and master of battlemech piloting, he had fought in Operation Bulldog to destroy the main forces of Clan Smoke Jaguar.

"Contact!" shouted one of the pilots, Joel wasn't sure who, but it had brought him out of thought, and he was now bringing his weapons to bear on one of the seventy-two enemies that had appear out of no where.

"Confirmed, all units engage the enemy." Said Allen.

Joel still felt a disaster was in the making, but pushed it aside as he opened fire on his first target of the battle, a _Wyvern_.

Chapter 7 

Everything was falling apart; the battle was now just an all out slug match.  Both lines were now mix together and everyone was fighting point blank.  Both forces were wearing down, but with the two to one odds, Allen's unit was taking the worst.  Joel had given as good as he had gotten and was now working on his 4th kill, a _Whitworth_.  The mech quickly fell, and Joel moved on to his next target, a 60-ton _Quickdraw_.

His armor was shredded as the enemy heavy mech opened up with a burst from 5 of its medium lasers.  Joel delivered his own crippling blow when he unleashed a full alpha strike on his victim.  3 PPCs, 2 pulse lasers, and 4 SRMs dug into the smaller mech, leaving it mauled and vulnerable as it lied on the ground.  As his pulse lasers and SRMs reloaded he fired once more putting the 60-tonner out of the fight for good.  No sooner had he finished that threat than 60 Long-range missiles impacted his arm, catching him totally unprepared.      

His _Awesome_ fell to the ground under the shear force of the impacts.  As he had predicted, a _Salamander_ stepped up to him.  That was the only mech in existence that carried that many long-range missiles.  He knew he was doomed and his whole world slowed down as 20 LRMs streaked out at him on gray contrails and stuck his brutalize mech one again.  He could tell the other forty were about to fire when he saw an azure flash of lightning come out of nowhere to savage the heavy mech's chest.  The ER PPC was followed by 3 bursts of autocannon fire and a swarm of LRMs.  That quickly identified his savior as none other than Allen.  When he got his mech to its feet after watching the _Salamander_ die under the barrage, a quick glance confirmed his theory.

"Thanks." Was all he could muster.

"Anytime." Allen responded.

Joel continued fighting.  The damage he had taken had torn off his left arm, and both medium lasers had gone with it.  He still had his PPCs and SRMs.  He had had his brush with death, and he had won, with some help from his commander.  Now it seemed nothing could stop him.  He continued his fighting by dropping two mechs before he saw Allen was in trouble.  Usually, the Clan-built _Thor_ could take anything you could throw at it, but now the enemy was headhunting.  Six mechs were converging on him firing everything at their disposal.

He targeted the closest one to him and cut loose with his three PPCs.  The light _Battlehawk_ convulsed in on itself under the force of the charged particle beams, and then it simply exploded, leaving only a char-mark on the ground.  After they had cleared the enemies off of Allen, Joel saw a massive flash of light.  He soon realized that reinforcements had finally arrived.  3rd Battalion was storming in.  That was the end of the two enemy battalions.

Chapter 8 

It was a victory, through and through, but a costly one.  They were down to only one battalion after the losses suffered by 1st Battalion and 3rd Battalion.  Their best estimates placed the enemy force at one battalion as well, having escaped with two full companies.  That made it even odds.  They had seen this enemy and knew that they were skilled veterans.  It would not be an easy fight.  They also knew that they were very skilled. Having fought battle after battle on previous worlds, they were more than just the weekend warriors they had been in their original militia.

Joel knew the struggle for this planet wasn't over yet.  He didn't know why he still felt the impending danger because the battle was over.  Something was still eating at him and he knew that whatever it was would be revealed to him and most likely the rest of the unit in a few days.  Right now it was time to rebuild.  His lance had not suffered any losses, but each and every one of their mechs had been brutalized.  After the battle, he had ordered his lancemates to get some rest.  He had also told them to aid their techs in the mech repairs once they had gotten some rest.  He knew they had to be ready at a moments notice in case the enemy launched an attack.

With his lance members working together with their techs non-stop until the job was done, Joel's lance was the first to complete repairs, and Allen put them out on sentry duty first.  Fortunately, the enemy would not risk attack a base that Allen and his men had had a month to dig themselves into, and with the enemy's dropships captured, they had no way to repair their own forces other than the cargo haulers they had unloaded.  Joel figured Allen was planning on getting the whole battalion up to full strength before making any moves.

Joel walked his _Awesome_ onto the platform behind the wall and found a perfect spot where if he crouched, his mech was completely protected behind the hardened barrier, and if he stood up, it allowed for clear firing of all of his weapons.  He stayed there and watched as the rest of his lance set up.  Derek and Stephanie stayed completely protected behind the wall.  Stephanie's _Raven_ was there mainly for the ECM cover and not for its firepower.  Derek's _Hatchetman_ was there just in case an enemy with some how managed to get inside the walls.  With its hatchet combined with its close range weapons, that medium class mech could stand toe to toe with any assault mech at point blank range.

George's and his _Thug_ took up a position along the wall similar to Joel's.  They were set.  Now all they needed were a few more mechs on the field.  Allen had told Joel that he would have another lance in about 15 minutes and another company 30 minutes after that.

They wouldn't get there in time as Stephanie yelled out, "Contact!"

"I see him," said Joel.  "Engage."

"Aye sir!" his lance responded in unison.

Joel popped up and lit off his 3 PPCs at an approaching _Catapult._  Those three were quickly followed by another two PPCs from George's _Thug_.  The _Catapult_ convulsed under the shear force and devastation from the impacts of five PPCs and fell awkwardly to the ground, not to get up again.

"Command, this is Sentry One," Joel said into his neurohelmet, using the code name assigned to his lance.  "We have contact with fifteen enemy mechs and counting.  Please advise."

"Joel, this is Allen," responded his commanding officer. "I want you to hold tight.  We'll have reinforcements out there in five minutes.  Hold on until …"

Chapter 9 

The communications went dead and Joel felt something hit his mech from behind.  It was a shockwave; the base was in flames.  It had to be a bomb.  Someone had infiltrated the base.  The mechbay was still intact and he was still hoping to get at least some reinforcements soon.  His lance could use all the help they could get.  The enemy count was now up to 28 mechs and still going up.  It was the whole enemy battalion.

Twenty-seven, as Joel and George dropped another enemy and fell back behind the wall.  There were too many of them for two mechs to fight off and they were closing fast.  Finally, the last of the thirty-four enemies came into range.  By the time Joel and George had dropped the next mech, the first of the enemies had reached the wall.  A single _Cestus_ used its jump jets to carry it over the wall and get inside the base.  It was quickly destroyed by combined fire from Stephanie and Derek as well as a nice hard blow from the hatchet that Derek's 45-ton mech was carrying.

_Now only thirty-two of them left_.Joel thought.  He saw that Stephanie's _Raven_ had taken some moderate damage, and figured they were trying to eliminate the advantage her equipment was giving them.  Joel knew that if that happened, they were dead.  He ordered Stephanie to find cover farther inside the base, and possibly use some of the rubble from the base for cover.

On her way to the base Joel heard Stephanie say, "Sir, there's someone fleeing the rubble.  He's not wearing a unit jumpsuit or insignia.  What should I do?"

"Ok Steph, ask him for identification.  If he doesn't check out, take him hostage and bring him into the rubble with you."  Responded Joel.

"Understood."

Another enemy mech was now jumping the wall, the rest were still trapped outside.  It was an 80-ton _Victor_.  Joel turned his mech to face the intruder, as did George.  The assault class mech, equal in tonnage to Joel's _Awesome_, was bombarded by 5 PPCs, 2 Pulse Lasers, and 16 SRMs at the same time.  The enemy mech could not withstand the momentum of the hit combine with such a large loss of armor and was thrown to the ground.

At that moment, an explosion behind him threw Joel's mech off balance.  He was fighting his controls to keep his mech upright as he realized the enemy had penetrated the wall.  The first mech through the hole was an _Axman_, a mech that could be considered the _Hatchetman_'s big brother.  Joel decided it was better to fall over than to take a giant ax in the back and let his mech fall to the ground gently.  Then twisting his torso and swinging his arm, Joel hit the enemy mech with a PPC at the same time he rose to his feet and throttled backwards.

The _Axman_ pursued, attempting to land a crippling blow with the massive weapon.  Even as the enemy mech followed him, Joel fired off his PPCs in a one, two, three punch, followed by his four SRMs and then by his pulse lasers.  The _Axman_ returned the favor with its two large lasers and its autocannon.

Joel brought his mech to a stop, and as the enemy mech drew close, in a display of skill and gut, Joel kicked out with his _Awesome_'s foot.  The kick struck directly over his opponent's knee, destroying the delicate leg actuator, which allowed the mech to move that leg.  Joel then delivered the killing blow with a punch from his mech's left arm to the _Axman_'s cockpit.  _That's the end of him_. Joel thought.

Chapter 10__

****

Out of nowhere, two gauss rifles struck Joel directly over the torso crushing and shredding armor.  As Joel's mech reeled, he identified his attack as a _Cerberus_, which was closing on him.  He regained control of his mech and delivered a burst of charged particles from his 3 PPCs, melting armor into molten streams, which flowed out of the hole in the assault mechs torso.  The _Cerberus_ returned fire with another pair of the deadly nickel-iron slugs, one of which penetrated his armor and dug into his innards.  Fortunately, the metallic ball the size of a basketball found no vital systems.

Unfortunately, the impacts were more than his gyro could handle, and his mech collapsed backward onto the pavement.  He saw the _Cerberus_ stalking forward towards him, bringing its Gauss Rifles to bear.  Joel threw his arms down and squeezed the trigger, hitting the big mech with a PPC and two pulse lasers, throwing off its aim.  The two gauss rifles flew past and skipped off the pavement.

Suddenly, 3 gauss rifles soared over Joel's mech and struck the _Cerberus_ right where Joel had been hitting it.  The damage was too tremendous and the assault mech collapsed onto its back.  That gave Joel enough time to get up, and he unleashed the killing shot with one of his PPCs, hitting the mechs gyroscope, destroying the delicate piece of equipment that allowed the mech to keep its balance.

He turned and saw Al Duvico's _Thunderhawk_ standing next to him.  The mech was a deadly design, boasting a trio of gauss rifles.  Joel was sure glad it was on his side.

"Thanks."  He said.

"No problem, maybe you'll return the favor some day." Al said.

Reinforcements had finally arrived in the form of seven friendly mechs.

"Where's Allen?" Asked Joel.

"He's fine, but his mech's not.  Whoever planted the bomb in the base also managed to plant satchel charges on some of the mechs.  Allen's was one of them."

_Well, at least he's alive._ Joel thought as he said, "Is this all we have left, or are more mechs on the way?"

"What you see is what you got man." Was the response, "Allen told me to tell you that you are in command here."

"Understood."

With nearly a full company at his disposal, the odds had improved slightly.

"All units, this is Sentry One.  Break contact with the enemy and regroup back at the base, what's left of it."

A number of "Aye Sir" s followed his order as his whole force retreated toward the base.

Chapter 11 

They met back up with Stephanie back at the base.  She still had the hostage with her.  Apparently, he wasn't stupid enough to try and run from a mech.  The base was in ruins.  The turrets were destroyed.  Joel then ordered everyone to re-engage the enemy, which had followed them there.  As he gave the ordered, he loosed a swarm of SRMs at a _Vindicator_.  The missiles wreaked their havoc on the smaller mech before Joel fired his PPCs at his victim, which couldn't handle the damage the assault mech was dishing out.  It fell to the ground when one of the PPCs tore through its right leg and snapped it off at the knee.

Just then, Joel was hit by a pair of ER PPCs, a Gauss Rifle, a pair of medium lasers, a small pulse laser, and Ultra Autocannon, and four short-range missiles.  The damage chewed through his left arm, leaving him without his two medium pulse lasers.  He turned to see a trio of Clan mechs staring back at him, a _Puma_, a _Shadowcat_, and an _Uller_.  Two lights and one medium, they wouldn't have been a threat if they hadn't been clan mechs, outfitted with superior weapons, armor, and much more maneuverable than anything the Inner Sphere had.

Joel returned fire at the _Uller_ with his three PPCs, striking the tiny mech dead center with all three.  The light mech was able to retain its balance, and it appeared to shrug off the damage like nothing had happened.  The damage had been done, however, and Joel hit the Clan design with his four SRMs to put that threat out of the fight.  As that mech fell the other two advanced, and Joel was again hit, this time with a Gauss Rifle, two ER PPCs and two medium lasers.

This time the damage struck his torso shredding the last of the armor there.  One of the lasers found the hole that had been made earlier by the _Cerberus_.  It dug through more internal structure, but did not critical damage.  Then suddenly a small metallic object flew toward the _Shadowcat_ and lodged itself on the medium mechs center torso.  The Narc Beacon was followed by more missiles than Joel could count, and the _Shadowcat_ was torn to pieces and soon exploded with a brilliant display of reds, blues, and oranges.  Joel then fired on the _Puma_ with everything he could muster.  Three PPCs and four SRMs impacted the thirty-five ton Clan mechs, ripping up armor and devastating the light mech.  That wasn't the end of the storm for the _Puma_ as three nickel-iron gauss slugs dug into the mech and came right out the other side, gutting the tiny thing and leaving it dead on the ground.

But while all the enemies were dying, friendly mechs were dropping too.  George had fallen as well as 4 other friendly mechs.  All that remained was Al Duvico and his _Thunderhawk_, Joel and his _Awesome_, Derek and his _Hatchetman_, Stephanie and her _Raven_, a _Sentinel_, and a _Tempest_.  The enemy had only fifteen mechs remaining of the thirty-six they had attacked with.  They had fallen easily because of un-repaired damage from the last battle.  The _Tempest_ soon fell, but not before 2 more enemy mechs died.

Joel knew they had no chance to win this battle and ordered his people inside the mechbay.  They made it inside and closed the bay doors.  The hardened walls would protect them for at least a little while.

Joel then descended from his mech while the remaining techs that had survived the explosion ran to make makeshift repairs on the 5 remaining mechs.  He made a full report to Allen, who came to the same conclusion Joel had, they had to get out of here.  After the repairs were completed, they would load everything onto the cargo haulers and fight their way out of the base.  They would work their way back to the dropships.       

Chapter 12 

As the order to open the doors was given, a burst of light flooded the mechbay, temporarily blinding Joel.  With him in the back seat of his cockpit was Allen, who was working the communications and commanding the mech force.  A little more than a lance, the 5 mechs made up a force the size of a Clan Star.  As the doors opened Joel fired through the hole at the mech directly in front him, a _Nightstar_.  The ninety-five ton assault mech shuddered under the impact and fired back with twin gauss rifles and a PPC of its own, tearing up the newly replaced armor on Joel's torso.

Joel got some help from his lancemates as each one fired its full compliment of weapons at the assault mech, which withered under the force and fell, not to get up again.  As the headed out of the mechbay, the five of them faced twelve enemies.  Joel quickly destroyed one of them, as did Al.  Just then, the forty-ton _Sentinel_ died under fire from 3 enemy mechs.

Joel then engaged a forty-ton _Enforcer_.  The medium mech hit him with its Large Laser and autocannon, but it wasn't nearly enough to penetrate Joel's _Awesome_'s heavy armor.  Joel fired back at the medium mech with his 3 PPCs and 4 SRMs, not yet having his left arm repaired.  The PPCs tore a large hole in the _Enforcer_'s armor which the SRMs found and impacted the mechs fusion-reactor.  The _Enforcer_ exploded in a ball of flames, leaving only ashes on the pavement where it had stood.

When his four remain lancemates dropped another mech, the odds became exactly two to one.  The odds quickly fell as Stephanie's _Raven_ fell to the ground.  She was able to eject, and one of the cargo haulers picked her up.  Now they had lost their electronics cover.  _We have to get out of here now_.  Joel thought.  Apparently, Allen agreed as he ordered an all out withdraw to the dropships.

As they were turning a Gauss slug followed by three large lasers struck Al Duvico's mech in the back.  The _Thunderhawk_ attempted to fire back at the _Atlas_ that was pursuing it, but missed, hitting a _Bushwacker_ and killing it.  Al was saved as Derek turned his medium mech and, in a stunning display of skill and experience, threw his hatchet 50 meters and struck the _Atlas_ in the cockpit, killing the pilot instantly.  The assault mech, having its brain destroyed, slowly fell to its knees, and then toppled to the ground with an earth shaking crash.

Seeing the giant behemoth fall must have disheartened the six remaining enemies because they slowed in their pursuit.  Their speed soon picked up though, and a pair of large lasers to the back dropped Duvico's assault mech.  One mech was breaking out in front of the other five enemies.  Joel knew if they were to escape that mech would have to go down.  He ordered Derek to keep moving as he turned to face the _Hauptmann_.  Having fifteen tons over Joel's _Awesome_ in tonnage, the _Hauptmann_ was the newest in Inner Sphere technology, an Inner Sphere omni-mech.

Joel pushed his throttle to top speed moving backward.  That was a calculated risk, knowing that the movement would throw off his opponents aim, but that if he were to get hit, it would be nearly impossible to keep his mech upright.  Joel opened up with his 3 PPCs.  As the _Hauptmann_ closed, it fired its paired Large Lasers, and its Heavy Autocannon.  Fortunately, the deadly autocannon missed, but the large lasers were on target, slicing up armor.  Joel was able to retain his balance, but decided to push his throttle forward.  _I need to end this fight quickly, before this guy's friends arrive_.  Joel thought.  He fired his SRMs, which detonated with minimal effect on the enemy's torso.

He then fired his PPCs in a chain sequence, which threw off the aim of his opponent's next shot, and only the autocannon hit, tearing up the last of Joel's armor, but not getting inside.  Joel had also struck innards with his last shot.  He fired off his SRMs again which dug into the enemy mech apparently striking at its reactor as its heat spiked.  The _Hauptmann_ was able to get off another shot.  The autocannon missed, but the large lasers were on target, slicing into Joel's reactor, sending his heat levels soaring.  Risking a reactor overload, Joel fired two of his PPCs at the _Hauptmann_, hitting its reactor and finishing the mech off.  The fight was over, but Joel's heat was through the roof.

He looked back to see Allen unconscious from the heat, but not dead.  Allen had not been wearing a coolant vest to keep his body temperature down.  Joel knew the heat levels would fall because he had stopped firing and there were no more enemies in the immediate area.  He made his way back to the Dropship.

**Chapter 13**

The battle for Lightside was over.  Joel had gotten back to the dropship, and two days later, reinforcements had arrived in the form of 2nd Regiment, which crushed the five remaining enemies and secured the rest of the planet once again.  The battle had ended, but not before a dark plot to destroy the base and a number of mechs claimed the lives of more than five hundred people.

They were able to recover Allen's _Thor,_ and it was quickly repaired.  Joel's _Awesome_ as well as Derek's _Hatchetman_ had also been repaired.  Stephanie got her _Raven_ fixed, and Duvico got his _Thunderhawk_ back.  Other than them, only 4 other mechwarriors from 1st Regiment had survived, and they each got mechs back from all the salvage.

They had over one hundred mechs worth of salvage, but not the pilots to pilot them.  They began recruiting, as they always did when a new world was taken.  They found there were plenty of people who opposed Archon-Princess Katherine Steiner-Davion's rule, and were willing to fight to de-throne her.  Joel was promoted to Major and given command of 1st Regiment's 2nd Battalion.  Derek got an upgrade in mech from his 45-ton _Hatchetman_ to the 65-ton _Axman_.  Stephanie got the _Shadowcat_ they had salvaged, which easily matched the _Raven's_ equipment package.  Joel's lance received yet another replacement for that forth spot.

Slowly, Allen's 1st Regiment was rebuilding itself.  Spirits were still low after the loss of five hundred people, more than half of which Joel knew personally.  _Allen knew all of them.  How does he do it?  How does he keep fighting?_ Was the question on Joel's mind as he settled into his new office.

**THE END**

Angel of Death {CSV}


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